I just bought a mint, first edition of this classic cookbook. Don't even ask how much it cost.

It tackles all the big questions, such as

How many miles does it take to roast a chicken?
Were Jaguars really designed with Veal Scaloppine in mind?

Rather than giving cooking times in the recipes, it gives distance.

Does anyone else know of this book? It was published in 1989, a little paperback. I bought it for my partner as he has talked about it for years. He's not a cook, but is fascinated by the idea of using the space on top of a car engine in such a useful. He has actually admitted that he and his son once bought some frozen apple pies, put them on the engine when they were driving somewhere, then ate them at their destination.

I'm tempted to have a try at car engine cooking when we are on one of our outback camping trips. We often drive l-o-n-g distances in a day, then stop to camp overnight. If I could have dinner cooking while we're driving it would save heaps of time preparing and cooking when we stop._________________Doing what you like is freedom
Liking what you do is happiness

I did read a few recipes in a 'Men's Health' magazine for cooking on your engine but I confess I thought it was a joke. And then I spent a lot of time wondering how you would keep the food on the hot parts of the engine - wouldn't it move around? It's on a par with recipes cooked in the dishwasher - which is, apparently, extremely efficient - all that that steamy heat I guess.

Joined: 29 Sep 2004Posts: 1196Location: buried under a pile of books somewhere in Adelaide, South Australia

Posted: Wed May 25, 2005 2:10 am Post subject:

What a hoot, Bekbeka! I'm still laughing at the thought of cooking in the dishwasher!

This could be the start of a whole series on Little-Known Uses for Everyday Appliances

A washing machine would make a great industrial salad spinner.
Would a clothes dryer on the highest setting work as a food dehydrator?
And there must be some other use for my iron - it doesn't get used much for its intended purpose.

I'm not sure about food moving around on the car engine, I would have thought it could, but will leave the technical side of things to Greg, and let you know._________________Doing what you like is freedom
Liking what you do is happiness

And, surely, Aussi college students know about making grilled cheese sandwiches on their irons!_________________God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

I love the idea of the grilled-cheese sandwitch cooked with a hand iron.

I don't think most cars have space for cooking. However, it is not out of the realm of reality that an innovative car maker could design into their next vehicle a space for a cooking container. And they would of course offer as an option a container designed to fit this space. Given the price of gas, and how much people drive, I can envision leaving work, stuffing the container with dinner, driving home, opening the hood, ...._________________' She says, 'I am the glamorous type.' I said, 'So what?'

I also like cooking with bricks; really helps a whole bird cooked in a pan.

Do tell! I keep a very thick terra cotta tile in my oven to improve the quality of my crusts, so I'm already sure this brick idea has great potential. I'm imagining lots more opportunity to turn the oven off and do passive cooking. So, elaborate, if you will. _________________God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

This book is great!!!! Have seen, bought and used exactly as you said - for trips out west when you drive for hours and hours and hours. (Think my book might be an older different title when I think about it, as I remember it well before 1989. Think it is an Australian publication.)

We would drive from Sydney and stop halfway to Bourke. A hot meal is always good after such a trek. Another really good thing is those fridges that run offyour car battery. You install a second battery (most off road vehicles have the space capacity for this) and have it wired to a cigarette socket in the back of the 4 wheel drive and then you have cold drinks and a hot meal when you arrive. Fabulous!

Those old type metal pudding bowls that have a lid that clamps on are great for this type of cooking. You actually have to wedge the dish into place and it doesn't move around much. Foil is an absolute necessity also.

There was a small pamphlet type book on preparing road kill to cook in your car engine bay. It was Australian also. Can't remember the name of it. My husband used to joke that he was going to open a truck stop type cafe out in the middle of nowhere and call it the Road Kill Cafe. Menu items where things like roast rosella on a stick, skippy surprise, warm wombat, etc etc........ He is one sick puppy.... but what does that say about me? I married him (sounds of hyperventilating and sobs coming from my end)...

Enjoy your cookbook!_________________If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

Joined: 29 Sep 2004Posts: 1196Location: buried under a pile of books somewhere in Adelaide, South Australia

Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 10:11 am Post subject:

Debbie,

We have the 2 battery set up in our Landcruiser with a 12 volt fridge and an extension that slots into the top of the fridge. That way we use the main fridge as a freezer, then the extension as a fridge. Haven't run out of food on a long trip yet.

The best place to open that cafe your husband is keen on would have to be Kangaroo Island - I have never seen as much roadkill as I saw there. But even though there are apparently an overpopulation of koalas, we never saw one, and neither has anyone else I know who has been there._________________Doing what you like is freedom
Liking what you do is happiness

Debbie: Someone beat your husband to it, years earlier, by opening up a Road Kill Cafe in Maine. Their website is down, so I can't link to it, but I've eaten there many a times while driving up 1A. They serve normal food, but have "roadkill" t-shirts and stuff for sale.

Tying into the menu that your husband suggests that he's serving, here's one I pulled of the 'net.

Roadkill Café
Menu
You Kill It...We Grill It!
Eating is more fun when you know it was hit on the run!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Too bad that someone beat him to it, but maybe he can have the Australian version.....

Off to have another giggle now._________________If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.